I'm proud to say that I never touch tobacco rarely drink. I haven't had a drink yet this year. Both are poisonous.
Non poisonous is the way to go lol. Even one beer messes with my execution on the drums.

But what about whatever it was you got arrested for? For me, that nameless/harmless stuff messes with my sense of time (but otherwise enhances the experience), so even though I think everything is groovy and I'm somehow more in the moment, playback always tells me otherwise (unless I was using click). Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan, but mostly just at practice and sometimes for small shows. But definitely never when recording. I learned that one the hard way.

I can handle a beer or two (or three), but beyond that, the wheels start coming off.

But what about whatever it was you got arrested for? For me, that nameless/harmless stuff messes with my sense of time (but otherwise enhances the experience), so even though I think everything is groovy and I'm somehow more in the moment, playback always tells me otherwise (unless I was using click). Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan, but mostly just at practice and sometimes for small shows. But definitely never when recording. I learned that one the hard way.

I can handle a beer or two (or three), but beyond that, the wheels start coming off.

Same here. The nameless gets me too excited about all the pwetty colours and that takes away from my focus on timing. To be fair, Larry's timing on his postings is always bang on so it must affect people in different ways.

From what you've said, you used to have your timing affected by "getting into it too much" (all the pwetty colours?) but you've since sorted out that issue by taking the "stone cold killer" approach

(Translation for those who didn't read that post, Larry said he how divorces his emotions from his playing so he can focus on getting it right, sacrificing some of his pleasure for the sake of the listeners' pleasure).

Thing is, if you refuse to get carried away by it, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of doing nameless things before playing?

The short answer for me is no lol. I can do both. What I can't do is drink. The motor skills and all that.
Abraham Lincoln himself is quoted as saying...,"One of my most favorite things to do is to sit on my front porch with a pipeful of sweet hemp and play my Hohner harmonica". (He had a Hohner endorsement I understand :)

I didn't think it was possible to smoke whacky baccy and play really tightly lol. Just bought a Beatnix Beat Analyzer and once I can make sense of its settings I might need to get the muscle memory happening again. At the moment I have a heap of old vague muscle memory things but, since I can't play kit at home, I have to think it more than I'd like when I play for real.

I find WB does good things for my ears with music. It'd be nice to enjoy that without either stifling it to focus or letting it all hang out and be confronted by a bad recording.

The wacky is brilliant for jamming and writing, actually executing a specific thing.. not so much. I believe you can be tight, but I find it hard to play exactly what I'm supposed to be playing, it becomes much more of a jazz improv style performance.

As has been said. The Play Back doesn't lie.
The main thing that is always affected by any kind of substance is timing.
Even coffee has given me trouble in the past.
I also tend to overplay if I use a combination of substances.
It just snowballs. You have a few beers, you add some smokes, you have some coffee, etc.
The next thing that you know, you are under the influence of several things that affect your playing and judgement.
I am working on drinking less coffee at work lately. I am doing my job better without it.
Caffeine is a powerful drug that is overlooked by many of us.

I am really having fun with my Self Improvement challenge.
I am learning things about myself that I never knew.
With less substances, I am more relaxed and thoughtful. I am more tolerant and considerate of others. People like me much better.
Everything about my life is better for me lately.
I used to start my day getting wired on nicotine and caffeine. I would then use nicotine and alcohol in the evening to try and level out. I was on a roller coaster.

The main thing that is always affected by any king of substance is timing ... I also tend to overplay if I use combination of substances.

I agree.

Once my focus shifts from timing to admiring all the pretty colours then I'm thinking I can do anything and start doing all those things I wouldn't normally do (because I can't pull them off with clean time). It's false confidence. It's as though your time awareness becomes more fuzzy and minor timing errors become invisible. A recipe for sloppiness.

Once my focus shifts from timing to admiring all the pretty colours then I'm thinking I can do anything and start doing all those things I wouldn't normally do (because I can't pull them off with clean time). It's false confidence. It's as though your time awareness becomes more fuzzy and minor timing errors become invisible. A recipe for sloppiness.

When I am on my game I continuously count and think ahead while I play. I see and hear the "Tells" of the musicians around me and I adjust to stay in sync with them.
When I have to much (Place Substance Name Here) in my system there is always something that suffers with regards to my playing. I try to add to much color as you put it.
I become self centered and I forget to listen. I play either fast of slow. I miss stops.
I start a fill in early.
I get distracted and I can't concentrait.

I really notice it when I play with the Jazz band. The first thing that I start to do wrong is I comp to much on the snare. I stop feathering the bass drum with finesse. My ride gets sloppy. I will feel it all slipping away and there is nothing that I can do about it. Be me and drink.

Caffeine isn't necessarily bad, in the right doses it has been observed to be great for our health, but if your drinking 8 cups of coffee a day to keep yourself awake you probably have some kind of underlying problem that will eventually catch up to you (stress, long hours of work, not enough sleep, poor diet, chronic illness etc.).

Smokers can try to rationalise their addiction all they want ("there isn't enough evidence about the health effects"..."I don't care"..."meh!"...etc.) but in the end of the day they are slaves to nicotine. If they don't get their regular hit of nicotine - they lose their marbles...junkie mentality.

I guess it is caffeine and nicotine that seem to suit the turning of the wheels of the political machines of industrial market economies if you ask me...imagine if people turned up to their 9-to-5 jobs half-awake...certain business people would not be happy about lost productivity.

Sorry Bob, just picked this thread up. I'm in exactly the same position, but not yet given up. I need to do it, I really know I need to do it. I just turned 50 and it can't continue. I'm a hopeless slave to nicotine. I tried last year, but that coincided with having to nurse my parents & their eventual demise, so I failed miserably. You've inspired me Bob. Gotta do it, gotta do it!

I am a smoker, have been for a while. I smoke rolling Tobacco, it is cheaper than he pack of Cigerettes, but still ain't cheap. 25g of Amber Leaf is about £6.50 which is roughly $11. Then the pack of cigerettes over here in the uk are going up to £7 sometimes £8. Which is around $13, so it is very expensive for smokers around England. This is why there are more people smoking rolling tobacco now in our country. I wish I had the will power to quit. But it has been a good 10 years since I started.

From what you've said, you used to have your timing affected by "getting into it too much" (all the pwetty colours?) but you've since sorted out that issue by taking the "stone cold killer" approach

(Translation for those who didn't read that post, Larry said he how divorces his emotions from his playing so he can focus on getting it right, sacrificing some of his pleasure for the sake of the listeners' pleasure).

Thing is, if you refuse to get carried away by it, doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of doing nameless things before playing?

It doesn't defeat the purpose for me. I don't recommend it for anyone else though. I can still divorce my emotions when I play. (the very best thing for my playing I ever did) I redirect that energy that used to go to being overly emotional....to my higher listening powers. Now, instead of "getting in to it" I become ultra aware of the other players parts and how my own part is fitting inside the big picture. The Big Picture is where my attention is focused most always. Global awareness of the net result of everyone's playing. Being relaxed helps that happen for me. Playback doesn't lie. I eliminate everything that messes up the playback. Looking at, and listening to everyone else takes most of my brainpower, and my playing is very reactionary as a result. I can usually hear where people are headed with their solos and I make sure I am right with them, be it building up to a peak or gently caressing a passage.

I said it before but I think it's a good analogy. I liken drumming to a college class where you use the majority of your brainpower looking and listening to the professor (the music) while your hands are busy scribbling notes (playing drums). My vision is focused on whoever is singing, or soloing, or the bass player, definitely not my drumset, my emotions are neutral, and I am listening hard.

When I relate these attitudes, I am mainly speaking as a drummer in an improvised setting where nothing is scripted. Which happens a few times a month for me. In my cover band, where everyone plays the same parts night in and night out, I don't have to be ultra aware (listening-wise) because I know exactly what's coming. I still listen to the big sonic picture to make sure I'm not too loud, with the right energy and sonic balance...but once I am dialed in for the room, I can relax and just sit back, play drums and watch the festivities. I know where the solos are going already. Totally different situation from an improvised scenario IMO.

First up, sorry Bob, for derailing but at least we're legitimising the thread in a drummer's forum :)

What can I say about nicotine addiction? I'm just a lost cause ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by larryace

It doesn't defeat the purpose for me. I don't recommend it for anyone else though. I can still divorce my emotions when I play. (the very best thing for my playing I ever did) I redirect that energy that used to go to being overly emotional....to my higher listening powers. Now, instead of "getting in to it" I become ultra aware of the other players parts and how my own part is fitting inside the big picture. The Big Picture is where my attention is focused most always. Global awareness of the net result of everyone's playing. Being relaxed helps that happen for me. Playback doesn't lie. I eliminate everything that messes up the playback. Looking at, and listening to everyone else takes most of my brainpower, and my playing is very reactionary as a result. I can usually hear where people are headed with their solos and I make sure I am right with them, be it building up to a peak or gently caressing a passage.

I said it before but I think it's a good analogy. I liken drumming to a college class where you use the majority of your brainpower looking and listening to the professor (the music) while your hands are busy scribbling notes (playing drums). My vision is focused on whoever is singing, or soloing, or the bass player, definitely not my drumset, my emotions are neutral, and I am listening hard.

When I relate these attitudes, I am mainly speaking as a drummer in an improvised setting where nothing is scripted. Which happens a few times a month for me. In my cover band, where everyone plays the same parts night in and night out, I don't have to be ultra aware (listening-wise) because I know exactly what's coming. I still listen to the big sonic picture to make sure I'm not too loud, with the right energy and sonic balance...but once I am dialed in for the room, I can relax and just sit back, play drums and watch the festivities. I know where the solos are going already. Totally different situation from an improvised scenario IMO.

Thanks Larry. How long ago did you decide to pull back your emotions when playing? Was it purely the playbacks that prompted it?

Do you feel you lost any vibe by catering for the playback, given that playbacks tell you if you're in time but can't capture presence and vibe? I suspect not, since you're more in demand these days than before.

Pol I pulled back immediately after hearing the first recordings. Being horrified while cringeing will do that to you. I didn't have vibe to lose before I recorded. Listening back and adjusting and eliminating things that don't work and tweaking and really making an effort to sound "recording quality good" is the only way I've gotten any vibe I might have. I use my critical ear right back on my own playing and make mental notes that amazingly I can remember when I encounter that musical situation again. I can't recommend it enough, recording gigs. If I wasn't able anymore to listen back to recordings of live gigs...I would consider that a major impedance to my progress.
I want to post some stuff from the new blues trio I have been working with. Some really tasty stuff.

Pol I pulled back immediately after hearing the first recordings. Being horrified while cringeing will do that to you. I didn't have vibe to lose before I recorded. Listening back and adjusting and eliminating things that don't work and tweaking and really making an effort to sound "recording quality good" is the only way I've gotten any vibe I might have. I use my critical ear right back on my own playing and make mental notes that amazingly I can remember when I encounter that musical situation again. I can't recommend it enough, recording gigs. If I wasn't able anymore to listen back to recordings of live gigs...I would consider that a major impedance to my progress.
I want to post some stuff from the new blues trio I have been working with. Some really tasty stuff.

I'm not sure what to make of this, is it humor or are you serious?
I do sing in my rock band and my 4 piece blues band.
I don't sing in this blues trio. The leader is a walking jukebox who has worked with some real heavies in the business. The guy can serve up hundreds of songs, words and all, from memory. He likes his drummers in the background, personality wise. I did sing once with that trio last year, and got some positive feedback from the crowd, but I picked up a vibe from the leader that I was stepping outside of my designated area. He didn't use me for 3 weeks afterwards, so now I just play drums and defer to the bandleader. He is an extremely talented man, I have to give him that. Playing with him is the highlight of my life.

I'm not sure what to make of this, is it humor or are you serious?
I do sing in my rock band and my 4 piece blues band.
I don't sing in this blues trio. The leader is a walking jukebox who has worked with some real heavies in the business. The guy can serve up hundreds of songs, words and all, from memory. He likes his drummers in the background, personality wise. I did sing once with that trio last year, and got some positive feedback from the crowd, but I picked up a vibe from the leader that I was stepping outside of my designated area. He didn't use me for 3 weeks afterwards, so now I just play drums and defer to the bandleader. He is an extremely talented man, I have to give him that. Playing with him is the highlight of my life.

Pol you're a scream, where DO you find these clips?

Serious but jovial? I wasn't making fun of you, just makes for a cool picture you doing some gravely blues vocals while drumming.

The only reason I asked was because I knew you sang in your rock band.

I'm sure your singer is fantastic, leaving you on the bench for a few weeks when you got a warm reception sounds like a bit of a dick thing to do though. I guess if he's the leader and you love playing with him you need to respect his wishes.

Poly has way too much time on her hands, I think we've all established that :P

Just visited the doctor yesterday with my dad, who is having breathing problems. He smoked 3 packs a day way back in the 1950s, but quit after 10 years. Nonetheless he has some emphasema and pulminary fibrosis that is getting worse every year. The doc said the smoking definitely contributed to the problem.

1. Slowly reduce smoking habits with extended gaps which will minimize addiction to cigarette smoking.
2. Keep some chocolates or chewing gums with you. Whenever you feel for smoking take one chocolate or chewing gum and keep in your mouth and concentrate in your work.
3. Whenever you feel to smoke immediately leave your room and do some physical exercise which is helpful to forget smoking.
4. Avoid company associated in smoking habits.
5. Avoid to inhale smokes from any smoking person surrounding you because indirect smoking will also be addictive and harmful.
6. Don't keep cigarette packet along with you.
7. Make a tour program in high altitude mountain trekking. In high altitude you will feel no urge to smoke. If you can spend a week in such high altitude place you can quit smoking. If you can motivate yourself after return at home that will be the best opportunity to quit smoking for ever.

For me it was a little different than most, the thought of leaving the house in the morning without cigs was terrifying. So I kept a full pack in the normal place in my car for the first 2 weeks. Then I just didn't smoke any, I didn't quit smoking, I just didn't smoke.

It's only been about 6 months for me, but I really haven't smoked much more than 1/3 to a 1/2 pack for the last 6 or 7 years. But had been smoking for over 20 years.

Update,
It is now mid July and I still haven't gone back to smoking.
I have made it for over three months.
I don't even think about smoking anymore.
I am really starting to feel great!
We have had real hot and humid weather and I can breathe with ease!
I work in a sweltering automotive repair shop.
It can reach 110 degrees F in my shop.

I'm with you, Bob. It's been five months since I quit. Being able to breath, man, take a deep breath, is amazing. No more rattling in the lungs or shortness of breath, my teeth are whiter and I don't stink anymore. My music room doesn't stink either.

I'm starting to feel guilty, men. The only problem is....hadn't thought about a smoke in the last couple of hours, until all this talk of quitting reminded me that I haven't had a fag in a while....and now I'm gagging for one.....arrrggghhh!!!

I'm starting to feel guilty, men. The only problem is....hadn't thought about a smoke in the last couple of hours, until all this talk of quitting reminded me that I haven't had a fag in a while....and now I'm gagging for one.....arrrggghhh!!!

How much are cigarettes in Melbourne? Well, what you don't spend on them is found money, man, extra cash. Ask yourself, would you rather have five dollars a day more or not? Ten dollars a day?

It's the way things are going, you know. Smoking cigarettes is on the way out.

I'm still fighting the damn belly I've gained, and it's a huge drag because at my age you start loosing muscle tone, so I've joined a gym which I absolutely hate because it reminds me of gym class when I was a kid.

How much are cigarettes in Melbourne? Well, what you don't spend on them is found money, man, extra cash. Ask yourself, would you rather have five dollars a day more or not? Ten dollars a day?

It's the way things are going, you know. Smoking cigarettes is on the way out.

I'm still fighting the damn belly I've gained, and it's a huge drag because at my age you start loosing muscle tone, so I've joined a gym which I absolutely hate because it reminds me of gym class when I was a kid.

But, I don't smoke!

Just bought a new pack.....I'm ashamed to admit that I just forked out $15.85 Aussie dollars for a pack of 25!! (Hence my earlier gripe at the government.....inexcess of 10 bucks going straight into their coffers, I'd guess).

At this very moment Jay, you couldn't be more correct.....there is little doubt that money would be better off in my pocket....the perils of addiction.;

You have reminded me though. Not only do I really need to toss the fags....but I could probably start to invest in a sit up or two as well. I haven't "let slip" just yet....but any further down the line and a come back to 'fighting weight' will be irretrievable :-)

I haven't "let slip" just yet....but any further down the line and a come back to 'fighting weight' will be irretrievable :-)

Man, I'm in that very situation. I never gave physical fitness any thought at all. I was young, skinny and pretty, I was always on the music business hustle day and night, and I thought it would always be that way.

It is odd because I haven't gained weight.
I am the same as I was. I am about 10 LBS over what my optimum weight should be.
I guess that the more drinking and less coffee has countered the weight gain.
I cut down on those vices shortly after I stopped the cigs.